Book-marker.



J. 1). LANE. BOOK MARKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1914.

1 1 1 2,8 1 3. Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

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UNITED STATES JOHN D. LANE, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

Book-MARKER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN D. LANE, of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book Markers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for facilitating the keeping of an indication of a particular portion of a book or magazine, such devices being commonly known as book markers.

The ordinary book markers commonly used require to be manually shifted whenever a leaf of the book or magazine is turned over, and unless attached to the book in some way, they often become lost. And even when attached, they frequently slip out from the proper place between leaves.

The object of my present invention is to provide a book marker of exceptionally low cost, and which may be connected to edge portions of either the cover of the book or to a group of leaves thereof, and which will automatically shift to each succeeding leaf whenever a leaf is turned, without interfer ing with the turning of such leaf, or requiring any handling or leaf-turning different from the ordinary method employed by the reader. Moreover, the marker can be slipped along to any desired line of the page being read, when it is a right hand page, to fix the point at which an interruption may have occurred to the reader.

To these ends, the invention consists in the improved marker which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved marker, applied to a portion of a book. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 22 of Fig, 1. Figs. 3 and t are, respectively, an under plan view and an edge view of the marker.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts in all of the views. 7

The device consists of an attaching member or clip, and a thin resilient curved finger connected thereto by suitable means such as a staple. The clip consists of a strip of suitable material of a nature that will not cause tearing or marring of book leaves or book covers or the surface of a polished table upon which a book with my improved marker may be placed. A suitable material for the clip is vulcanized fiber in sheet form.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. May 29, I914.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

Serial No. 841,755.

The strip is bent at 12 to form two jaws 13, 1+1. The end of one of the jaws, preferably the jaw 18, isslightly curved away from the other, as at 15, to facilitate the slipping fof the clip onto an edge portion of a book fcover a (Figs. 1 and 2) or onto any selected grouping of leaves of a book.

' The marking finger preferably consists of a strip of thin resilient sheet celluloid 16, curved from end to end, one end being curved to a shorter radius than the main portion of the finger and fitting the outer side of the bend 12 of the clip, the portion lying under said bend being secured to the clip, the rest of the finger being free to yield. Preferably the two members of the device are connected bya staple or two-pronged rivet the head of which is sunk into the material of the strip 16, the two prongs extending up through both jaws 13, 14, near the bend 12 and bent or headed down. This not only holds the finger securely and leaves its resiliency unimpaired for almost its entire length, but also strengthens the clip and avoids liability of its being broken at the bend when the jaws are being slipped onto a thick book or thick group of leaves. By recessing or notching the opposite edges of jaw 14, at 18 I enable the finger 16, which is preferably of substantially the same width as the jaws, to be grasped and lifted whenever a reader desires to do this, without liability of also grasping and perhaps loosening the clip from its position of adjustment. Owing to the curved form of the finger 16, it never lies flat on the surface of the page being read, but has only an edge portion or tip 19 which always bears on some portion of the uppermost leaf until that leaf is to be turned and for that purpose is positively shifted to draw it out from under said tip or edge.

For ordinary use I consider the best location for the marker to be the lower outer corner of the right hand portion of the book when open. When so located, the uppermost leaf under the finger can be turned over in the ordinary way of manipulating book or magazine leaves by fingering the upper portion of the leaf to be turned. The device may, of course, be applied to the upper corner, or clipped or slid along to indicate any intermediate line between the top and bot tom of the page. The legs of the staple are so located to present a stop to determine the point to which the clip is pushed to place. The two legs, being vertical and parallel bear against the edge of the book cover or of a group of leaves, without indenting the same.

I claim:

1. A book marker consisting of an attaching member or clip and a marking member secured thereto, said attaching member consisting of a strip of flat Vulcanized fiber bent to form two jaws, the end of one jaw being curved away from the other jaw, the marking member consisting of a strip of thin resilient sheet celluloid curved from end to end, one end being curved to a shorter radius than the main portion of said strip and extending around the outer side of and under the bend of the clip member, a staple eX- tending through the two jaws of the clip member near the bend and through the end of the marking member which underlies the bend of the clip member.

2. A book marker consisting of an attaching member or clip and a marking finger secured thereto, said clip consisting of a fiat strip of comparatively stiff material, the finger consisting of a strip of thin sheet material which is resilient relatively to the clip, the strip comprising the clip being bent to form two jaws and having means for reinforcing the bend, the resilient finger being longer than the clip and having a fastening uniting it to the clip, said finger being curved from said fastening to its free end.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D. LANE.

Witnesses:

A. WV. HARRrsoN, A. F. RANDALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

